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So you've got your website up and running. Now you can sit back and watch new customers pouring in, right? Well, maybe. First your potential customers have to find your site. How do you ensure that this will happen? Of the millions of websites in existence today, how do your customers find yours?
The answer is a combination of a good marketing campaign and good design and coding techniques which will result in increased search engine ratings. In this article, we'll discuss marketing.
One of the most important steps to take in publicizing your website is the simplest one of all: put your website address everywhere. Put it on your business cards, print ads, newsletters, brochures, magnets, pens, even your company car. Set up a signature on your email so that your name, business name, contact information and website is automatically added to the bottom of every new email you send. (Look under "Tools > Options > Signatures" for Microsoft Outlook or some combination of the above for other email programs.) Drop your website name into every business conversation. For example, if someone calls for hours or directions, give the answer and add that the information is also available on your website.
Submit your website address to the top search engines, including Google, Yahoo, MSN, AltaVista, Ask, and Dogpile. Look for a link called "Add URL" and follow instructions for each search engine. Once your website has been added to a search engine's database, you can work on pushing your site up in the rankings. Very few surfers will browse past the third results page so it's important to be listed in the first few pages. (This is where good design and appropriate coding come into play.)
Don't overlook the local search options on Google and Yahoo. Start with Google Maps and look for a link reading, "Add or Edit Your Business." You can add not only your website address, but email, hours of operation, photos, and a short description of your business. You can even add a coupon. Yahoo Local has a choice of paid or free listings. Start with the free one. You'll need a Yahoo account but that is also free to set up. Yellowpages.com permits free listings and has a section for reviews. Finally, submit your site to a local directory like delawareontheweb.com.
How do those search engine sites determine who shows up at the top of the ratings anyway? Nobody knows for sure! They use carefully guarded algorithms that are not shared with web designers or the general public. But we do know that the number of inbound links a site has helps to determine page rank. Inbound links are links on someone else's page that point to your site. The more you have, the better. How do you get them?